The Korean Education System and Your Chance to Teach English in Korea

Korean Education System and Your Chance
to Teach English in Korea
Perhaps the number one thing people don’t realize before coming to Korea is that the education system
is not going to be the same as in your home country. In fact, many new teachers may come to South
Korea and find what they perceive to be flaws that they’d like to change.
You should come to Korea understanding that it is a different country and the way your country does
things is not inherently better. And no, you are not going to convince the higher-ups to change the
system to a way that you think is better!
Education is intense in South Korea and from a young age the majority of students attend multiple
schools and spend most of their time every day focusing on education.
In Korea, kids start their education at kindergarten (from ages 3-6) and around the age of 7 or 8 students
start elementary school. Most students will attend at least one after-school private academy, also

known as a “hagwon,” with English being the most popular subject studied. It is not unusual for some
kids to attend several different hagwons every day and arrive home late into the evening!
Hagwons vs. Public Schools
Most of the English teaching jobs in South Korea are at hagwons. Hagwon is the Korean word for a
private academy or institute, also known as a cram-school in some countries. Teaching at a hagwon is
quite different than working in the public school system, from the hiring process to the teaching
environment.
Working Hours
The main difference between public and private schools is the working hours. Typically private schools
run after public schools let out, so some hagwons will be open late into the evening with most teachers
working from 2 P.M. - 10 P.M. You will definitely work longer than those scheduled hours and at least 30
of your weekly hours will be in-class teaching hours. At my hagwon, I typically worked 52 hours per
week!
In a public school, you are guaranteed working hours of 40 hours per week, though not all of those
hours are dedicated to teaching. You will spend a good amount of time doing “desk-warming”, where
you are scheduled to be at school, in your classroom, without any classes to teach. Essentially, while
desk-warming you are paid to do nothing. At a public school, you will rarely have to work more than
your scheduled hours, which is a big benefit compared to hagwons.
Salary
Most ESL jobs in Korea will have a starting salary of around 2.1 million Won whether you’re at a public
school or a hagwon.
If you are teaching at a public school the salaries usually start low, unless you have real teaching
experience or qualifications (more than a TEFL), and vary slightly between provinces. You can check out
the pay scale for the EPIK program here. There is also a possibility to earn a bonus if you work at
multiple schools in your city.
Hagwons can have a starting salary anywhere from 2.1 to 3 million Won, with Seoul-based schools
having the highest salaries. It is a bit more difficult to find the higher paying jobs if you do not have any
prior teaching experience, but it is possible. Furthermore, the highest paying jobs are usually only open
to applicants already in the country, so after your first year teaching in South Korea, you can snag one of
those more lucrative jobs!
Hiring Process
Recruiters: It is possible to apply for public school jobs through recruiters like Korvia, which focuses on
assisting people with applying for the EPIK program. However, recruiters are most often used when
looking for hagwon jobs. Recruiters are usually the best option because they are free (if yours is charging
you it is a scam!) and they can expose you to many more jobs than you could find on your own.
Recruitment companies like Travel and Teach are a great way to find hagwon jobs in South Korea.

Apply Directly to Schools: In South Korea, many of the hagwons are franchises or part of large
corporations. Only 15 ESL companies own more than 70% of the private education sector in Korea! Since
many large companies own multiple schools throughout the country it is possible to apply directly to a
school without using a recruiter.